Castle Ghost
by Harukaryu
Summary: Old castles and interesting happenings always seem to go together, don't they?
1. Chapter 1

**Castle Ghost**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Be happy! :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything asociated with it! So please send your lawyers away, unless you want me to resort to desperate measures...**

Samantha Manson wept with grief and rage as she watched the castle guard carry her father to the dungeons. He had been convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison by the royalty. She had been too stunned to attend his trial, but she firmly believed that he was innocent. After all, he was always a gentle, loving person, and he cared for her very much, especially since her mother had died. Also, he was their only source of income. Without him, she would starve on the streets while he wasted away in prison. Tears streamed down her face as her only remaining family member was dragged away.

--

The prince watched sadly as the poor man was taken from the room. He felt bad, but there wasn't anything he could do except watch seemingly impassively. Suddenly, he noticed a girl crying at the end of the long hall. She looked to be about his age and was dressed in black, with a rather short but practical haircut. He noticed that she wore a simple tunic and breeches instead of a dress. Despite her rather masculine attire, she wept bitterly for the convict. Looking at her, he felt even worse. Seeing as he couldn't do anything for the prisoner, he vowed to help the crying girl.

Glancing around to confirm that noone's eyes were on him, he quickly made a duplicate, while turning himself invisible and intangible. Quickly he found a place to hide where he became visible again, then went ghost. Quickly, he draped a dark cloak over his white hair and ghost- mode attire which was very similar to the girl's except it also had dark gray gloves, boots, and belt. This outfit helped him blend into the night far better than his normal navy blue breeches and wine-red tunic did. Thus prepared, he slipped out of the alcove and walked invisibly to the girl.

--

Sam gasped in surprise when a dark man seemed to appear out of nowhere beside her. She was about to turn away when the stranger spoke in an oddly melancholy voice: "Why are you crying for him?"

Normally she would be screaming at him in anger, but she somehow knew that he asked out of sympathy, instead of trying to provoke her. "He... he was... my dad." Somehow, the simple admission made her cry harder, and she turned her head away in shame. Surprisingly, the visitor did not walk away in disgust or spurn her. Instead, he made one simple gesture that held a world of meaning: he opened his arms. And she fell into them.

--

The ghostly prince was astonished at the ease which with she fit into his comforting embrace. Quickly, he moved them into the shadows to escape prying eyes, and give her privacy. Gently, he covered her with his cloak, and rubbed her back soothingly. Not knowing what to say, he settled for gently shushing her, and humming gently under his breath. After a while, she relaxed in his arms, and her breathing evened out. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he picked the girl up bridal-style. Then, he turned them both invisible and went through several walls, until he arrived in his room. He softly set her down on his fluffy bed and pulled the covers over her. Ckecking once again to make sure she was asleep and safe, he went to the main hall to absorb his duplicate. Once he was whole again, he returned to his room, and slept.


	2. Chapter 2

**Castle Ghost**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Enjoy life (and this story please)! :P

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything asociated with it! (As lawyers leave grumpily...) "And don't come back!" (Lawyers turn and glare evilly) O.o... To the story!**

Sam blinked fuzzily. She felt warm and comfortable, which wasn't possible with her scratchy cot and thin blanket. Suddenly, she shot up. This wasn't home! She looked around from her perch on the bed. Slowly, she inspected the room she was in. It was quite large, and the owner had decked it out in varois shades of green, blue, white, and black. The furnitue consisted of one large, messy desk, the bed on which she was sitting, two bookshelves in a corner, and a lumpy couch. Wait a second, she thought, something looked wrong with the couch. Looking closer, she saw a boy about her age sleeping. He had messy black bangs that drooped into his eyes, and he looked like he had been too tired to change his clothes before nodding off. Sam wondered if she was in his room, and if so, why? She was infinitely relieved in knowing that he wasn't on the bed with her, at least. But who was he, and why did she get the feeling she should know him? Curiously, she got out of the bed and stepped over to the sleeping teen. She was surprised to see ice blue eyes open langiudly. The next second, she was on her back, with green eyes flashing angrily above her.

"Who are--" Mid sentence the boy's eyes widened as he realized what he had done. Then, he flushed a deep red that she found herself thinking was cute, and almost flew off her.

Stunned, Sam just lay there for a moment. Seeing this, the boy blushed a second time and held out his hand.

--

Well aware of the blood rushing to his cheeks, the prince offered his hand, but was surprised when the girl ignored his hand and got up by herself. Thinking she was angry, he dipped his head to hide his eyes behind a thin wall of black hair. So, he was caught off-guard when she asked "Who are you?" without a stitch of ire. Of corse, he then blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.

"You aren't mad at me?" Then he blushed for the third time in five minutes, and studied the plush white carpet.

--

"Why would I be mad at you?" He was ashamed of such amazing reflexes that she would kill for?

He shifted uncomfortably. "Umm... because I... attacked you and" his face furrowed in an adorable picture of concentration "forgot to look before I leap?" Sam inwardly frowned at hwer mental commentary, but decided to ignore it in favor of the scared teen in front of her.

"It was an honest mistake. Anybody would be wary of a stranger in their room." He looked up a little hopefully. "But how did you gain such reflexes?"

Immediately, his face dropped again, and he shuffled his feet nervously. Sam waited, sensing a secret. However, it seemed he was reluctant to tell her.

"I need them." Nothing more, nothing less. It seemed she would have to be more specific.

--

Danny dreaded her questions. He knew she would be angry if he lied, but she was very persistent, and he could not afford to let her discover his secret. So, when she asked why his reflexes were needed, he tried to change the topic.

"I need them for protection. Are you hungry? Cause it's about time for breakfast." He was amused to hear her stomach growl, then quickly blushed when his own stomach copied the girl's, but louder. Then, they both laughed.

"OK. By the way, my name is Samantha, but call me Sam." She stuck out her hand.

The prince smiled, relieved to have at least temporarily earned her trust.

"I'm Danny." She smiled back.

"Well, Danny, after breakfast you can tell me all about yourself." Danny gulped nervously and headed for the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Castle Ghost**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Love chocolate and kittens! ;)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything asociated with it! ****Although, if you use the fact that everything is relative, then my plagerism is related to Butch Hartman's (and other's) ownership of the cartoon Danny Phantom, which is related to the concept of Danny Phatom, which is related to how much anyone can really own a concept, which is related to free speech and thought, which is related to the possibility of plagerism of the aforementioned items... (Lawyers eye author warily, wondering whether to advise author to plead insane.)**

Danny got them an exquisite breakfast from the castle kitchens, the staff of whom seemed to know him very well, Sam noted. They feasted in his room, then rested on the couch. With the food Sam found her head clearing from the fog of sleep. Suddenly, something struck her.

"Last night," she began, instantly earning her new friend's attention, "My father, he... was taken away. And a man... appeared and... comforted me, and I must have fallen asleep on him. So... how did I wake up in your room?"

Suddenly, the tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, and Sam swore she saw a look of panic cross Danny's features. But when she blinked, he seemed to be calm again. However, she once again felt that he was hiding something from her.

--

The prince was panicking. Even though he knew royalty should appear collected at all times, he hoped he hadn't given anything away. Most everyone said he was as easy to read as an open book, but now was definitely not the time for that. Willing himself to appear in control of the situation, he quickly answered her questions as truthfully as possible.

"Well, I've known him all my life. He doesn't really have his own home, so when you fell asleep on him, he came here, and I-we let you take the bed."

She frowned, but did not seem to notice his slip-up. "So where is he now?"

"Nearby. He left after you got settled into my bed."

Now her expression was a bit puzzled. "Where is he usually, and how do I find him?"

Danny, fortunately, had figured out a system by now: "He goes here and there, but you will probably only find him if he wants you to."

--

Sam found this very peculiar. She also found herself very curious about the dark stranger. So, although Danny seemed a bit uncomfortable talking about his friend, she decided to plow on.

"So, does he have a job? He seemed," here she blushed, "quite muscular, is he a guard?"

Her examinmee seemed relieved as he answered "Pretty much, yeah."

"And you?"

Danny seemed a bit more fidgety now, but she assumed it was because he didn't like answering questions about himself. "Well, whatever he gets into, I'm dragged along. So about the same thing. But he is better than me."

This intrigued her: "Really? Why?"

His face darkened. Strangely, he seemed sad, instead of angry or jealous, like she would have expected. "If you see him, you'll figure it out." She didn't think he wanted her to hear him mutter "And lets hope you never do." For some reason, the comment sent shivers down her spine.

--

Seeing that Sam was still digesting the information he had given her, the prince resolved to steer the subject away from himself.

"So, what about you? All I know so far is your first name."

His plan worked perfectly,catching her off guard and leading her to concentrate on herself more.

"Well, my dad and I are -no, were- peasants. My mom is dead, so it was just us, struggling to survive. Now that he is gone, I have no home, no money, nothing!" She quickly wiped away a couple of tears that were threatening to fall, and glared at him, as if challenging him to despise her, now that he knew of her social status. Danny, of course, wouldn't dream of such a thing.

"Well," he began shyly, "Maybe I could help fix that."


	4. Chapter 4

**Castle Ghost**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Love your life, it's the only one you've got! ;)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything asociated with it! ****(Lawyers grumble and glare at author,who smiles back cheerfully) Go on! Shoo!**

Sam stared at him for a second.

"You would really help fix my life?"

Danny smiled and nodded "Yes."

She threw her arms around, screaming "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Danny hugged her back, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment that usually only came with saving someone's life. Suddenly, however, he felt a tear soak through his shirt. He gently lifted her face and saw more streaming down her cheeks. "What...?"

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, "but I'm so happy!"

She returned her face to his shoulder and continued to cry quietly. Danny suspected that she just wanted to know she wasn't alone for a few minutes. So, he rocked her gently and stroked her hair as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

--

Sam wasn't happy to be crying, but she couldn't seem to stop the flow of tears. Besides, Danny was wonderfully warm and kind, and it had been a long time since anyone had been like that to her. When she finally calmed down, she sighed. Danny began to withdraw a little, but she stopped him.

"Can I stay here for a while?" The boy hesitated for a second, then nodded, and she happily curled in his lap, much like a cat. He continued to stroke her hair, so she let out a soft purr, wondering what his reaction would be. He started to laugh, but suddenly he shivered violently. She could tell that he was very tense. He carefully lifted her out of his lap and ran for the door, yelling an apology and saying he had to go to the restroom. By the time she had comprehended what had happened, he was through the door, and she'd probably just imagined a flash of light on the other side...

--

Danny raced to the bathroom and went ghost, only pausing to lock the door. Then he went through the celing, narrowly avoiding a subtly glowing string which meant "Skulker."

"Indeed ghost child, it is I, the ghost zone's-"

"Second Greatest Blabbermouth. So I've heard. Go on, be a dear and tell me what the heck you are doing here." Danny smiled sarcastically as he floated across from the other ghost. The self-proclaimed 'Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter' was really a tiny green ghost... in a suit of armor holding an ectoplasmic sword and shield, with a similar lance and bow with arrows strapped to his back. Who, at the moment, was getting very angry at a certain halfa...

"I will have your pelt, whelp!" And without further ado, he attacked, swinging his sword.

Danny sighed and held up his hand, "I really don't have time for this," and froze Skulker in his tracks, then collected the immobile ghost in something that looked suspiciously like a small soup pot.

--

Sam came just in time to see the suited ghost attack a familiar black-clad figure. But she couldn't figure out who it was until he turned around. She gasped. The boy who had comforted her, who had brought her to Danny was a ghost?

Suddenly the ghost saw her. Fear flshed over his face and he bowed his head, as if waiting for her to berate him for something. When she continued to stare at him, he sighed again and started to float upwards.

"Wait!" she cried, and ran forward to grab the hem of his cloak.

He stopped, and turned to face her with a stunned look. She quickly spoke before he could fly away.

"Why did you help me yesterday?"

He studied her for a few moments before firing back: "Does a person need a reason to care for another?"

She gaped at him again before stammering, "But you're a ghost!"

"And so I'm not allowed to care? Come on! Ghosts have feelings too! I've met a dead couple who care for each other veru much. A writer who was sad and angry when I accidentally destroyed his writing. A morphing ghost that learned that destruction isn't always a good thing. And the one I just captured can't let go of his pride. So please don't assume that just because I glow, I can't feel!"

He turned as if to storm off, but she caught his foot and pulled him down to her level. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you. I've never seen a ghost before, and what I've heard isn't very flattering. You have every right to be angry as me, but before you go, what is your name?"

The ghost stared at her for a second, then said "I'm sorry too. Most people haven't interacted with ghosts, and only see the bad ones. I'm Phantom, and," he took a deep breath as if to steady himself, even though he was dead, "would you meet me on Danny's balcony tonight?"

She studied him for a minute, his tense stance and pleading emrald eyes. "Sure" she replied, and smiled.

His eyes shone with joy, and the thanked her before giving her a quick hug and shooting through a wall, though not fast enough for her to miss thinking his cheeks were a bit pink, if that was possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**Castle Ghost**

/ I'm typing this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it takes some time! I hope you like it, anyway. Be happy (and please review). )

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything asociated with it! ****Sueing me for plagerism is the equivalent of sueing CERN for making a hadron collider on the grounds that they will make black holes that will eat up the universe! (Survey says: The universe will be just fine.) Unless you want to be an international laughingstock, don't do it!**

Sam was worried. Sam was very worried. Sam was going out of her mind! And she thought, furious with herself, she was worrying over a little meeting with someone who wasn't even alive!! At least Danny had unwittingly helped a bit: he had brought her a bundle of clothes, which happened to contain two stunning dresses. Both had short sleeves and long skirts that accentuated her figure well. One was a midnight blue with silver sparkles on the bosom and a few silver pleats. The other was its twin except for it was a deep plum with black embellishments. She debated with herself for a few minutes before choosing the blue one, because it matched Phantom's hair. Early in the evening Danny left to do something, saying he would probably come back sometime in the night. She was secretly pleased, because this left her plently of time to prepare for her meeting with Phantom. She rushed around, brushing her hair, straightening her dress, and trying to make herself as presentable as possible.

Just when she finished checking herself (and mentally beating herself over the head for making a mountain out of a molehill), she heard a tentative "Sam?" from the balcony. Immediately, she said she was going to be right there, checked herself over in the mirror, frowned at herself, and then quickly went to the balcony doors. When she pushed open the doors, she found the ghost floating above the balcony, with his head turned towards the stars. Upon hearing her entrance, he turned to face her... and promptly crashed to the ground.

She looked magnificent in the dress he'd given her. The moonlight magnified her creamy complexion, which contrasted starkly with her dark hair, and the silver decorations sparkled beautifully. He stared at her for a few seconds, openmouthed, before managing "You look... gorgeous." She blushed, then grinned at him, amused and a bit touched by his reaction. "It seems even ghosts come down to earth every once in a while. You look good too."

He flushed a dark red, which she found odd, seeing as he was dead. Quickly, he rose into the air again and dusted off his clothes a bit. Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, a habit which she found familiar for some reason, he chuckled weakly. The ghost-teen was wearing nicer robes than usual: white with green additions such as belt, boots and leather gloves, an intresting contrast to his usual dark clothes. She found herself thinking he was rather good looking, though she banished the notion quickly.

"So," he grinned, "ever flown before?"

And that was how she found herself flying in the arms of a ghost a few minutes later. At first she had gripped him tightly, so as not to fall, but he'd somehow convinced her to relax a bit and now she had forgotten her fear, instead staring at the scene below her. The castle was amazing in the moonlight. Silver spires glowed and tall turrents cast authorative shadows. Phantom flew her once around the castle before lowering them to the ground. As Sam looked around their landing-place, she gasped. The pair were in a beautiful field of violet and silver flowers, beside a sparkling spring. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Phantom smiled at her. She hugged him happily in reply.

Danny blushed a bit, embarrased but happy that she liked his surprise. He set her down gently, then sat down softly himself. "So... what do you want to talk about?"

Sam pondered the question for a moment. "Tell me about yourself."

Danny's eyes widened, but he sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that. You must understand, there are a lot of secrets in my life, even now. I can't tell you everything, and I'm sorry." He looked down, thinking of how much he was decieving her, and everyone, and feeling shame over the mess that was his life.

Suddenly, he felt an arm loop around his shoulders, and he was pulled alongside a warm body. "It's ok, everyone has secrets. I should be sorry, for prying." Danny rested his head against Sam's shoulder, trying to get the most of their moment, because he knew all good things come to an end. After a moment, he spoke. "No, you have every right to be curious. Well, first off, my first name is Danny." He felt her stiffen in surprise. "My friend whom you are staying with is Danny Fenton. And me, well I'm Danny Phantom. My parents were ghost hunters. I... happened one day when my parents had predicted the appearance of an interdimensional hole. However, they were held up when the time came, so I went to investigate. I arrived just in time to have the interdimensional hole torn... right through me." He fell silent, remembering that night, how he had suddenly felt a searing pain. Even now, he could feel it. Danny curled himself up a bit more, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to banish the memory, and what had come after it: horror-stricken faces, his parents trying to rip him apart "molecule by molecule", his future self...

Sam watched the ghost boy withdraw farther and farther into himself, wondering what to do. She noticed a tear trail down one of his cheeks, then another and another, and soon his whole face was wet. She felt an immense swell of compassion within her, and she held the boy in her arms. He merely continued to cry silently on her shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her tightly as though she was a lifeline.

After about ten minutes, the tears stopped. For a moment they stayed where they were, until Danny realized he was still hanging onto her. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that." She just smiled at him patiently. "You did the same for me, remember? So now we are even."

"And I'm embarrased..." he muttered under his breath, causing her to laugh.

"Well, you feel better now, don't you?" Danny sighed, but had to admit that it did feel like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Suddenly, Sam acquired a quizzical look.

"Wait a second..." she muttered, "ghost aren't alive, and aren't made of flesh and bone, so how could you cry? That was water, I'm sure, and yet..." She looked at him sharply "theres something different about you, isn't there?"

Danny opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Finally, he stopped trying to think up excuses and sighed. "Well Sam, the truth is..."

_Author's note: hee hee a cliffie! (hey, that rhymes!) I don't understand why so many authors like them, but here you go! (dodges missiles) yes, I will try to update quickly!_


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